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Review
. 2023 Nov 6;4(1):25-41.
doi: 10.1021/acsmeasuresciau.3c00044. eCollection 2024 Feb 21.

Abiotic, Hybrid, and Biological Electrocatalytic Materials Applied in Microfluidic Fuel Cells: A Comprehensive Review

D V Estrada-Osorio  1 , Ricardo A Escalona-Villalpando  1 , M P Gurrola  2   3 , Ricardo Chaparro-Sánchez  4 , J A Rodríguez-Morales  1 , L G Arriaga  5 , J Ledesma-García  1
Affiliations
Review

Abiotic, Hybrid, and Biological Electrocatalytic Materials Applied in Microfluidic Fuel Cells: A Comprehensive Review

D V Estrada-Osorio et al. ACS Meas Sci Au. .

Abstract

This article provides an overview of the work reported in the past decade in the field of microfluidic fuel cells. To develop appropriate research, the most commonly used electrocatalytic materials were considered and a new classification was proposed based on their nature: abiotic, hybrid, or biological. This classification allowed the authors to discern the information collected. In this sense, the types of electrocatalysts used for the oxidation of the most common fuels in different environments, such as glucose, ethanol, methanol, glycerol, and lactate, were presented. There are several phenomena presented in this article. This information gives an overview of where research is heading in the field of materials for electrocatalysis, regardless of the fuel used in the microfluidic fuel cell: the synthesis of abiotic and biological materials to obtain hybrid materials that allow the use of the best properties of each material.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic representation of laminar flow in a microfluidic fuel cell.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Schematic representation of the division of the FC according to the channel dimensions or the flow through the pores.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Representative graph of publications on fuel cells published between 2002 and 2022, sorted by size.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Schematic representation of a microfluidic fuel cell sandwich arrangement with two carbon electrodes and an air-breathing cathodic compartment.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Energy densities during partial and complete oxidation of fuel.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Representation of the percentage of published articles on fuel cells categorized by fuel type.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Scheme of a μFC classified by its catalysts.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Illustration of glucose oxidation and enzymatic and abiotic oxygen reduction, showing the potentials and production of electrons and the importance of their combination with hybrid electrodes.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Publications on microfluidic fuel cells classified by fuel and type of electrocatalyst.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Percentage of publications (2002–2022) on fuel cells with electrocatalytic materials, categorized.
Figure 11
Figure 11
Representative schematic of publications (2002–2022) on μFCs powered by ethanol, categorized by type of catalyst.
Figure 12
Figure 12
Publications between 2002 and 2022 on methanol microfluidic fuel cells ordered by type of electrocatalytic surface.
Figure 13
Figure 13
Application of μFCs with coupling to electronic or implantable devices.
Figure 14
Figure 14
Publications between 2002 and 2022 on glucose microfluidic fuel cells, ordered by electrocatalyst type.
Figure 15
Figure 15
Publications between 2002 and 2022 on lactate microfluidic fuel cells, ordered by electrocatalytic material.
Figure 16
Figure 16
Alternative fuels reported by the working group in μFCs.
Figure 17
Figure 17
Comparison of fuels and electrocatalyst types for μFC as reported by the research group. Glu, glucose; Form Acid, formic acid; EtGly, ethylene glycol; Gly, glycerol; Lac, lactate; Chol, cholesterol; Abi, abiotic; Hyb, hybrid; Bio, biological; numbers are the percentages published with each type of catalyst.
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References

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